# Omid Abtahi

Omid Abtahi (Persian: امید ابطحی; born July 12, 1979) is an Iranian-born American actor. He is best known for his roles as Salim, in the Starz Original American Gods, Penn Pershing in The Mandalorian, Saleem Ulman in NCIS, and Homes in the fourth installment of The Hunger Games film series, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015). He is also known for his performances as Justin Yates in Ghost Whisperer, and as Detective Jerry Molbeck, in the American TV adaptation of Those Who Kill.

## Early life and education

Omid Abtahi was born on July 12, 1979 in Tehran, Iran. At the age of five, he moved to Paris with his family, before again relocating to the United States, to Irvine, Orange County, California, when he was 10.
Abtahi graduated from University High School, Irvine, in 1997, and attended California State University, Fullerton. He began studying advertising, then picked up a second major in theater, graduating in 2002.

## Career

Prior to appearing on television, Abtahi performed with several theater companies, starring in a stage production of Arthur Schnitzler's Fräulein Else at the Berkeley Repertory, McCarter Theatre and Long Wharf Theatre; Adoration of the Old Woman at the Sundance Theatre Lab; and Your Everyday Typical Romantic Comedy at the Kennedy Center.
After arriving in Los Angeles, Abtahi was a series regular on FX's Over There and Showtime's Sleeper Cell, both premiering in 2005.
He has also guest-starred on the television series JAG, Judging Amy, and 24. He played Justin Yates in Ghost Whisperer.
Abtahi made his New York City stage debut in Urge for Going by Mona Mansour in January 2016.
He has also been a voice actor in video games, playing the voice of Farid in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and of Sergeant John Lugo in Spec Ops: The Line. He also voices Victor "Gator" Diallo in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Running with Scissors | Restaurant Manager | |
| 2008 | The Mysteries of Pittsburgh | Mohammed | |
| 2008 | Ocean of Pearls | Amrit Singh | |
| 2008 | The Last Lullaby | Van | |
| 2008 | Space Chimps | Dr. Jagu (voice) | |
| 2009 | Brothers | Yusuf | |
| 2010 | Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back | Dr. Jagu / Reporter #2 (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2012 | Argo | Reza | |
| 2014 | Boys of Abu Ghraib | Ghazi Hammoud | |
| 2015 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 | Homes | |
| 2016 | Window Horses | Ramin (voice) | |
| 2021 | Justice Society: World War II | Hawkman (voice) | Direct-to-video |

### Television

Key :
| † | Denotes television programs that have not yet aired. |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | JAG | Wahid | Episode: "Heart of Darkness" |
| 2005 | Judging Amy | Reza Ajami | Episode: "The New Normal" |
| 2005 | Over There | Pfc. Tariq Nassiri | 12 episodes |
| 2005–2009 | 24 | Safa / Jibraan Al-Zarian | 4 episodes |
| 2006 | Sleeper Cell | Salim | 7 episodes |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Chandru 'Dru' Kambhatla | Episode: "The Good, the Bad and the Dominatrix" |
| 2007 | The Unit | The Boss | Episode: "Play 16" |
| 2007–2008 | Ghost Whisperer | Justin Yates | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | Sumner | Episode: "Gnothi Seauton" |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | Amir Khan | Episode: "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" |
| 2008 | My Own Worst Enemy | Tony Nazari | 9 episodes |
| 2009 | Can Openers | Ali | TV movie |
| 2009 | Bones | Hal Shirazi | Episode: "The Bones That Foam" |
| 2009 | NCIS | Saleem Ulman | 2 episodes |
| 2009–2010 | FlashForward | Ed Fiore | 2 episodes |
| 2009–2010 | Three Rivers | Dr. Yousef Khouri | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Pleading Guilty | Jonathan Ziven | TV movie |
| 2010 | The Event | William | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Nikita | Amir Komera | Episode: "Resistance" |
| 2010 | The Mentalist | Markham Shankar | Episode: "Red Hot" |
| 2010 | Grey's Anatomy | Aasif | Episode: "Something's Gotta Give" |
| 2010–2013 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Cadet Amis (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Fringe | Simon Phillips | Episode: "Concentrate and Ask Again" |
| 2011 | Homeland | Raqim Faisel | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Hide | Neil | TV movie |
| 2012 | The Good Wife | Samir | Episode: "Live From Damascus" |
| 2012 | Family Guy | Prince Faisal (voice) | Episode: "Leggo My Meg-O" |
| 2012 | Covert Affairs | Sayid al-Muqri | Episode: "Hello Stranger" |
| 2012–2013 | Last Resort | Nigel | 5 episodes |
| 2013 | Family Guy | Mahmoud (voice) | Episode: "Turban Cowboy" |
| 2013 | Castle | Waqas Rasheed | Episode: "Dreamworld" |
| 2013 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Ari Sayed | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Revolution | Captain Riley | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Legends | Bashir Al-Kanazer | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Those Who Kill | Detective Jerry Molbeck | 10 episodes |
| 2015 | Better Call Saul | Detective Abbasi | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Damien | Amani Golker | 10 episodes |
| 2017 | Shameless | Sameer | Episode: "Frank's Northern Southern Express" |
| 2017 | Hawaii Five-0 | Naser Salaam | Episode: "He ke'u na ka 'alae a Hina" |
| 2017–2021 | American Gods | Salim | 21 episodes |
| 2018 | The Crossing | Jake | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | We Bare Bears | Kale (voice) | Episode: "The Limo" |
| 2019 | Love, Death & Robots | Wes (voice) | Episode: "Sonnie's Edge" |
| 2019 | DuckTales | Faris D'jinn (voice) | 2 episodes; replacing the late Richard Libertini |
| 2019–2023 | The Mandalorian | Penn Pershing | 5 episodes |
| 2021–2022 | Fear the Walking Dead | Howard | 8 episodes |
| 2021 | The Lost Symbol | Inmate | Episode: "As Above, So Below" |
| 2022–2023 | Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight | Alfie (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2023 | Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur | Ahmed (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2023 | City on Fire | Detective Ali Parsa | 8 episodes |
| 2024 | The Boys | Sameer Shah | 2 episodes |
| 2025 | FBI | Faheem Ellahi | Episode: "Redoubt" |

### Video games

| Year | Film | Role |
| 2012 | Diablo III | Additional Voices |
| 2012 | Unit 13 | Informant 1 |
| 2012 | Spec Ops: The Line | Staff Sergeant John Lugo |
| 2012 | Call of Duty: Black Ops II | Farid, Mujahideen Soldier |
| 2015 | Call of Duty: Black Ops III | Additional Voices |
| 2016 | Titanfall 2 | Militia Captain |
| 2016 | 1979 Revolution: Black Friday | Babak Azadi |
| 2016 | Mafia III | Additional Voices |
| 2016 | Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare | Victor 'Gator' Diallo |
| 2018 | Thief of Thieves | Corbin "Chip" Tavistock |
| 2019 | Metro Exodus | Cannibal, Child of the Forest |
| 2019 | Days Gone | Additional Voices |
| 2019 | Rage 2 | Miscellaneous Voices |
| 2019 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | Additional Voice |
| 2020 | Disintegration | Ox-eye, Outlaw, Redshirt |
| 2021 | The Artful Escape | Talish, Hyperionite 3 |

### Short film

| Year | Film | Role |
| 2009 | Not Necessary | Larry Dallas |
| 2009 | Diplomacy | American Interpreter |
| 2009 | Stars | The Pimp |
| 2010 | An Idle Dream | Pascal |
| 2011 | The Perfect Meal | Social Worker (voice) |
| 2018 | Goliath 22 | Omar |